The Bakery
by Ciel In A Dress
Summary: The baker in a bakery is not a happy chappie. In fact, he's Kurosaki Ichigo. But one day, a stunningly gorgeous woman enters his bakery and his life is turned around.
1. Chapter 1

**The Bakery**

**Chapter 1**

He was putting his fresh meat pies into the oven when he heard the bell ring at the front of the shop. Sighing in slight annoyance at the interruption, he wiped his hands on his apron and walked out of the oven room. It was a perfectly normal day, so—as usual—he went out there with the intention of greeting the customer and convincing them to buy his best cakes, buns, and general bakery goods. He'd only recently taken over the family business since his mother had passed away and his father was simply too incompetent to do anything useful. Luckily, though, everything had gone quite smoothly so far.

He was not expecting this… complication.

He had heard of the famous Kuchiki family, of course. Everyone had. They were a small family of models, living in the mansion at the top of the hill. All three of them were, by definition, absolutely gorgeous. The most famous of them was Kuchiki Byakuya; he had been voted hottest male alive two years ago. Ichigo didn't find him particularly hot per se, but nobody could deny those good looks. Unfortunately, Byakuya's wife had been murdered by an enthusiastic fan that same year, thereby reducing the family's number to two. Ironically, the funeral was held on the same day as the trial. Now it was common knowledge that, since the death of his wife, Byakuya had become extraordinarily protective of his younger sister, Rukia. Her modelling career had been cut short for fear that she would be the victim of a similar attack. As such, she was the very last person Ichigo had expected to see waiting at the counter.

In simple words, he had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his life.

All thoughts of cakes and bread flew out of his mind as he stood there gawking at her. Her skin was the colour of moonlight and equally as bright. Her hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were a stunning shade of violet. Her simple blue sundress flowed with her body, covering her modestly but not hiding a single curve.

He must have died and gone to heaven. There was no way an angel such as her could exist in this world.

Rukia stood self-consciously in the small shop, fully aware of the baker's eyes sweeping over her humble body, taking in every detail. When she began to feel uncomfortable with his intense scrutiny, she raised an eyebrow in fake confidence and spoke. "Are you planning on staring at me like that all day?"

Her voice rang like no sound Ichigo had ever heard before. He half-closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy it. Then, suddenly, her words hit him, and he snapped out of it. Embarrassment quickly filled in the gaps.

"S—sorry, ma'am," he stuttered, giving a quick bow and trying to remember who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. He fought against the blush creeping its way across his cheeks, and forced his face into his usual scowl. It wasn't the nicest face he had in his repertoire, but it was the only one he could manage in this situation.

"Well, then. I'm after some bread. White, please," Rukia asked politely, cutting to the chase. She'd noticed his scowl and had likely been offended. It was a typical reaction, and one which couldn't be helped, really.

"B—bread?" Ichigo wondered what that had to do with anything.

Rukia regarded him as one might regard a harmlessly insane person. She honestly seemed to have no idea of the effect she was having on him. "This is a bakery," she reminded him in slight confusion.

Right. Of course it was. Ichigo tried again to get his thoughts in order. _White bread on the left,_ he reminded himself.

He moved robotically towards the shelf containing the white bread. Was running a bakery usually this difficult? He concentrated on picking it up. Then he moved back to the counter and passed the bread to Miss Kuchiki. He let out a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't messed up that simple task.

Rukia opened her purse and looked at Ichigo expectantly.

He didn't react.

"Uh… How much?" she asked after a minute of awkward silence.

"How much… what?" Ichigo mumbled, caught in her spell again.

She suddenly leaned forwards and snapped her fingers in his face. "Wake up already!" she exclaimed.

Ichigo stepped back in surprise. "What the hell, midget?!" he said without thinking.

"Oh!" Rukia was shocked. "So that's how you treat your customers?!" she shouted angrily, losing her temper and slamming the bread down on the counter. She reached over it and grabbed Ichigo by the collar. "How. Much?" she enunciated slowly and firmly, her face inches from his.

Ichigo fought to keep his concentration, not letting her close proximity get to him. "Uh… one dollar," he guessed off the top of his head.

She put a dollar in the front pocket of his shirt, picked up her bread, and began to walk towards the door, clearly furious. Then she paused, and turned back to shout at him one more time. "Don't think I'll ever come back here!" she told him, her thorough irritation obvious in her expression.

_That couldn't have gone any worse, _Ichigo thought miserably, going to check on the meat pies.

As Rukia left the store, certain that she would never go near that man again—what was the name on his name tag? Kurosaki Ichigo?—she noticed a sign outside reading, "White bread—$4."

Four dollars?

The next day, the bell in the bakery rang again for Kuchiki Rukia.

* * *

**A/N: I wrote the second half of this after my thumb on my right hand (I'm right-handed) got squished in a barbecue. The barbecue wasn't turned on, thankfully, or I would have a squished and burnt thumb. As it was, it still hurt a lot and made writing almost impossible. But I was bored so I wrote anyway.  
****So why am I writing an IchiRuki story? Even better, why is it about a bakery? All these questions and more will be answered. I hope.  
****Review please!! ^_^**

**BR/N (Beta Reader's Note): Hi. It's me, Firisu, one of Ciel In A Dress' many best friends in real life, as well as the beta reader for everything she writes. And can I just say how happy I am that she's actually writing IchiRuki for once? It's quite a nice change from the hardcore NaruSasu yaoi she usually gets me to beta read. So, yes, I'm very happy. And it'd make me even more happy if you'd leave a review and make her happy. ;]**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ta-dah! I hope you like it… :)**

**The Bakery**

**Chapter 2**

This time, Ichigo was in the front room of the shop, cleaning the sticky handprints off the glass counter. There was a primary school field trip nearby, and they'd just bought all of his strawberry tarts. That flavour happened to be his specialty. Along with cleaning him out of his most popular food, those kids had also touched the glass so much that it was no longer see-through.

He was very annoyed at that.

But having to shut the shop for cleaning wasn't all bad; it gave him time to think. His bad mood that day had originally been because he'd somehow managed to get the girl of his dreams to hate him. That would put a damper on the wedding. He sighed unhappily. After meeting her just once—and only talking to her for five minutes at most—he had somehow managed to fall completely in love with her.

_What on earth will I do after the second meeting?_ he thought cynically.

But there would be no second meeting.

_Because she hates me._

He sighed again, resigned to his depression, going back to his vigorous scrubbing of the counter. He heard the bell on the door ring. "We're closed," he said, without looking up. He expected the person, whoever it was, to apologise and walk out again, but they didn't. She coughed quietly to get his attention. He looked at her.

"I owe you three dollars," she said.

It was Kuchiki Rukia.

"Ah!" was his first reaction, jumping back in shock and accidentally tossing the sponge he was using behind him.

"What?" she said, surprised by his sudden shout. "Do I have something on me?" She looked over her arms and body, quite possibly searching for some huge bug or the like.

"No, no. I was just surprised to see you." Ichigo was also surprised by the fact he could talk in a relatively normal way to her. After beating himself up so much for his idiocy yesterday, he had managed to take control of himself so he wouldn't do the same thing again—in theory, at least. He had to make things better, and he was determined to do so. "About yesterday, I'm really sorry about the way I acted," he said quickly, not giving himself a chance to mess it up.

"Uh, yeah. What was that all about anyway?" she asked.

"Well, I guess I was surprised to see you in my little shop since you're so famous," he said. It wasn't really lying; he had been surprised. But he thought it might be a bit too much to confess his deep love for her, so he used that as an excuse.

"Oh, yeah. I get that a lot." She sighed. For some reason she felt perfectly at home with this strange baker. Like how the sun and the moon are at peace with each other; the perfect balance.

"So I'm forgiven?" Ichigo asked, just to be sure.

Rukia nodded, then stopped. "Only if you let me pay for yesterday's bread properly," she bargained.

"What?" Ichigo said, confused.

"You know, yesterday, you told me it was one dollar for the bread. It wasn't; it was four," Rukia explained, hoping he wasn't going back into his creepy daze.

Ichigo blinked. "Oh. Whoops," he said. "Don't worry about it." He was trying to be nice, but Rukia shook her head. She came up to the counter, smiling, leaned over it, and put something in his shirt pocket. It was exactly like yesterday, minus the grabbing him by the collar. He took the three dollars out of his pocket.

"There. Now, what's your specialty?" she asked, unintentionally charming him. He forced himself to stay concentrated, and he managed to do so with a kind face.

"Strawberry tarts are… But I'm all out—sorry," he said apologetically.

"That's okay." She smiled. "I can wait."

Ichigo couldn't believe what was happening. Not only did she come back, she was acting cute, and nice, and sweet. And she was willing to wait for him to make tarts that she'd never tasted before. He swallowed his nervousness and asked, "Would you like to come and watch?"

She frowned. "Am I allowed?" she asked doubtfully.

"Well, of course!" Ichigo said encouragingly. "I can't very well leave you alone out here. People might think you've broken into my shop," he joked.

Rukia still seemed a bit reluctant to follow him. He realised with a jolt of surprise that she didn't trust him. He supposed he couldn't blame her; with the way he'd acted yesterday, anyone would be against walking into a dark room alone with him.

"Fine," she finally agreed, stepping around the counter and standing next to him, but not meeting his eyes. He was surprised at her height—or lack thereof. Seeing her close up like this really made him see how absolutely tiny she was.

"Follow me, midget," he laughed, walking into the baking room. Rukia stepped on his foot—hard. He didn't dare insult her again.

They spent the afternoon baking together. She wasn't particularly skilled in the kitchen but she tried her best and managed to make two decent-looking—or at least edible—meat pies. Ichigo was a more accomplished baker—it was his bakery, after all—so he made a squadron of strawberry tarts. They then sat together in the chairs by the front window of the shop, talking and eating his tarts.

"Here." Rukia gave Ichigo one of her meat pies. He raised an eyebrow.

"I can make my own, you know," he said.

She poked her tongue out at him. "Just eat it, strawberry."

He smiled. "Fine then, midget." He proceeded to eat the pie as instructed. "So what are you gonna do with the other one?" he asked, except it came out as more of a jumbled sound because his mouth was full. It wasn't actually so bad, once you got over the out-of-place sweet taste. He wondered what exactly she'd put in it.

Rukia managed to define the words and answered, "My brother." She stopped eating and froze. She quickly snatched up her cell phone and checked the time. "Shit, he's gonna be out looking for me." She got up and put the wrapped-up leftover meat pie in her handbag, all the while muttering to herself, "I'm late. I'm so late. He's gonna kill me. He really is."

Ichigo just sat there, shocked. She picked up her bag, ready to go, and then noticed his expression. "What?" she asked.

"You swore," he managed to blurt out.

"Oh… sorry." She blushed.

"I just… I know now that you're not all sparkles and bunnies," he said incredulously. He was liking this girl more and more each minute.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "Actually, I don't usually swear. Ever. I suppose, because I just feel so comfortable around you, it just slipped out," she explained, blushing an even deeper shade of pink.

Ichigo had an odd feeling floating around his stomach. Either her cooking was poisonous or he was reacting to her statement, _'because I just feel so comfortable around you.'_ He could be wrong, but in his books, words like that meant that the person liked you. And not just liked, but _like _liked.

"Rukia…" He had become so close to this girl over the course of just one afternoon. It had to be fate.

"Y—yeah, Ichigo?" she stuttered, tangling her fingers together.

He stood up and put his hands on hers. She stopped fiddling and looked up at him. His eyes burned like the sun and melted hers. He leaned down, and she didn't resist as he slowly pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss didn't last long; Ichigo was afraid of frightening her away, so he pulled back after a few seconds. Rukia was far from frightened; she was positively glowing with happiness. Ichigo smiled again, glad at her reaction.

They simply looked at each other for a while, before Rukia broke the connection.

"Now, I've really gotta go," she said, turning around and leaving the shop. She caught the door before it shut and called back to him, "But I'll be back tomorrow and there's nothing you can do about it!"

True to her word, she entered the bakery for the third time the next day.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 2 is done! Yay! Now, there's gonna be another chapter, but I still don't know if I will write another one after that. To write a chapter 4 or not to write a chapter 4… That is the question.  
****Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think my beta-reader is also glowing with happiness right about now. ^_^**

**BR/N: Why, yes, your beta reader is, in fact, glowing with happiness right now. ^^  
And she will be glowing with even more happiness if a certain best friend of hers decides to write that fourth** **chapter of a particular story she adores so much. *hint, hint, nudge, nudge***


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Due to my beta-reader's begging and popular demand, I have decided to make this a four chapter story. For those of you who can't count, that means this is the penultimate chapter. The next chapter shall be the last one. Now read, before it falls into the abyss.**

**The Bakery**

**Chapter 3**

"I—Ichigo…" a young girl's voice mumbled, tugging on Ichigo's sleeve. He woke up to see his younger sister standing next to his bed in her pink night gown with her hands over her face, quite clearly crying.

"Hey… Yuzu. What's wrong?" he asked kindly, sitting up in the darkness and turning his lamp on. Without further ado, she leapt into his arms and started sobbing. He was bewildered to say the least. It wasn't often that his sister came crying to him in the middle of the night.

"I—I had a dream." She cried, burying her face in his shirt. Ichigo was at a loss for words; he simply patted her head and let her cry herself to sleep. Was he really the only one she could come to with these problems? Was there really nobody else to look after her?

When he was sure he wouldn't wake her by taking her back to her own bed, he did so. He then went back to sleep, freshly reminded of his importance in his family.

* * *

When he awoke the next morning, the first thing he saw was a dress. Still half-asleep, he wondered curiously what the dress was doing, wandering around all by itself.

Then an arm came out of seemingly nowhere and tapped him briskly on the head.

"What the—?"

"Oh! Good, Ichigo. You're awake," a pleasant female voice stated cheerfully. So that explained the dress and where the hand had come from. He looked up at her face and literally fell out of bed in shock when he saw that black hair and those pretty violet eyes.

This girl had the amazing skill of appearing right when she was the last person he expected to see. Of course, yet again, it was Rukia.

He quickly picked himself up off the floor and cleared his throat, trying to resist the blush threatening to swarm across his cheeks like angry bees.

He turned around and opened the curtains behind his bed to let some light into the room and also to give him a chance to regain control over himself after the surprise of being woken up by Rukia.

What was it about this girl? She had the most extraordinary ability to make him act in a completely different way than usual. For instance, he had no idea what had come over himself when he had kissed her yesterday. And why did she have to turn up this early in the morning?

He turned back to face her, a bright grin on his face instead of his customary scowl. She had butterfly shaped clips in her hair, keeping it out of her eyes. Ichigo noticed that the colour of those clips was the same as the colour of her dress: a pleasant baby green.

"Rukia," he greeted cheerfully, happy to see her despite the oddness of their meeting that morning. "How goes it?"

"It goes well, Ichigo," she answered. He felt his heart swoop as she said his name. Then it occurred to him that she was in his room in his house and he wasn't totally sure how she had gotten there. So he did the logical thing—for once—and asked.

"Uh… What are you doing here?"

"Oh, your sister let me in," Rukia answered happily. Ichigo noticed the offending sister—Karin—standing by the door. He glared at her. She poked her tongue out at him and wandered off.

Rukia watched this exchange with narrowed eyes. Then she surprised him yet again by slapping him rather painfully on the arm.

"Argh!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?" he asked angrily, wondering if all girls were this violent. "I didn't even say you were short!" he added, regretting it as she deemed him worthy of another sharp whack.

"One: I like your sister. She's more polite than you! And two: do not call me short if you value your life." To state the obvious, Rukia was scary and quite threatening.

Ichigo asked himself why he liked her so much. Naturally, he got no answer. Then he realised he was not at all satisfied by Rukia's answer to his other question. What was she doing at his house in the first place? Did one of his sisters invite her over? No, impossible; his family didn't know about his… uh, relationship with Rukia—although his dad was a fan of Kuchiki Byakuya, the hottest man alive. Ichigo tried not to think about that too much.

"Rukia, seriously, what are you doing here at this time in the morning? In my house?" Ichigo asked again, being more specific this time. Rukia sighed and twiddled her fingers. She seemed to do that often. Ichigo waited for a while before she answered.

"I wanted to talk to you…" Rukia began slowly.

"I gathered that," Ichigo stated calmly, smiling in an effort to make her more relaxed. It worked; she smiled back at him and continued.

"…About that kiss."

Ichigo didn't say anything for a moment.

"Ah," he finally responded. The pair stood in silence for another moment. Just as Rukia opened her mouth to break the calm, Yuzu came bursting into the room holding three slices of toast in one hand and a glass of juice in the other.

"Breakfast, Ichigo!" she announced, delighted at the chance to pay him back for his kindness of comforting her the night before. Then she noticed Rukia.

"Hello," Rukia greeted politely. Yuzu smiled widely and handed Ichigo the food and drink without even bothering to look at him. She was staring at Rukia.

"…You're Kuchiki Rukia," she stated, so far managing to contain her excitement. Ichigo ate one piece of toast whole, watching the girls.

"I am," Rukia answered slowly and cautiously, wondering what this little girl was planning on doing. Yuzu took a deep breath. Then another. Then she could hold it in no longer.

"Oh my god! You are, like, the most beautiful girl on the planet! When I grow up, I wanna look just like you! You're so pretty! And your hair, and your perfect skin… You're so perfect!" It was very unlike her to have such a sudden outburst. It looked like Ichigo's dad wasn't the only one who was a fan of the Kuchiki models.

Yuzu was jumping up and down excitedly, clapping her hands in a completely hyperactive fashion, and totally ignoring Ichigo as he ate the rest of his breakfast and downed the juice.

To Ichigo's surprise, Rukia laughed. He had thought she didn't like to be recognised as famous, but it seemed now that she was okay with it.

"Why, thank you. I assume you are Ichigo's other sister?" Rukia said. Yuzu nodded. "It's nice to meet you." Rukia held out her hand. "You're very pretty, too. You know, he told me about you yesterday." Midway through shaking Yuzu's hand, Rukia began to blush at the memory of what else had happened the day before.

Looking from Ichigo—who was firmly avoiding the gaze of the two girls—to Rukia, Yuzu noticed that the atmosphere in the room was a little strained.

"I'm going to school now. Bye!" she said quickly, hiding a smile as she left with a vague idea as to the reason behind Rukia's presence in their house. _Ichigo has a crush… _she thought to herself, giggling quietly and leaving for school with Karin.

Ichigo put his hands in his pockets and just stood there, in front of Rukia, feeling the awkwardness rolling through the air. Rukia had taken up a similar stance, her hands behind her back, her head raised to look Ichigo in the eyes.

"Yeah… about that…" Ichigo said, bringing the conversation back to the original topic, with no idea how to continue. Thankfully, Rukia continued for him.

"…I like you," she muttered.

_Wait, what? _Ichigo's mind went into overdrive. _Did she just say… no, no way! …She likes me? As in, like likes me?_

"Uhh… what was that?" Ichigo asked out loud, clearing his throat and hardly daring to hope that he'd heard correctly. Rukia was blushing furiously and glaring out the window, refusing to look at his incredulous face.

"I said I like you." Her hands were balled into fists and she seemed angry for some reason. A smart man would've taken care not to irritate her further, but Ichigo wasn't known for his genius.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said smugly. Rukia turned to him, fire burning in her eyes. That was warning enough for him and he quickly took a step backwards. Unfortunately, he was a bit too slow and she whacked him on the arm to his eternal surprise.

"I like you, and I don't know why!" she exclaimed, proceeding to hit him multiple times.

"What are you doing? Hey—ouch! Why are you—ahh! Stop hitting me!" Ichigo held his arms up to protect himself from the barrage of blows coming from the small and angry girl in front of him.

"I don't even know you!" she said, punching him squarely on the jaw. He moved out of the way but she followed him, using her greater agility as a smaller person to get him in every place he wasn't expecting.

"Ow!" He dodged one fist, only to be hit with the other.

"I met you… what, two days ago?" More punches followed. How could someone so tiny be so violent?

"Ahh! Not there, please!" he yelled, continuing his struggles. "What did I ever do to you?" he protested.

"You and your dumb charm tricked me into liking you!" She was angry at herself, Ichigo realised, for liking someone like him. A famous model liking a simple baker. And so, she felt the need to take it out on him. But that didn't mean he would let her.

"Charm?" he asked, pausing for a second and getting a fist in the gut for his trouble. Not wanting to be caught unaware again, he continued the little scuffle. "Are you saying I'm hot?"

"Yes! I mean, no! No way! Never ever! Ever! You—I mean… not—but you… Shut up!" She blushed and hit him extra hard for getting her to admit it.

"Stop hitting me!" Ichigo begged, catching her hands in his and holding them there as she thrashed about, trying to free herself from his grip.

"Don't be a wuss!" she told him, finally managing to twist out of his hold on her and continuing her bombardment.

As the onslaught progressed, Ichigo found himself with only one thing left to say.

"Well, I like you, too!" he confessed, having no choice but to shout for his voice to be heard over Rukia's now indistinguishable rant.

"I know you do! I'm not an idiot!" She tackled him and succeeded in pushing him onto his bed, the suddenness of her action catching him by surprise—because otherwise, she would have no chance of knocking over someone of Ichigo's stature.

"Then what's the problem?" Ichigo was absolutely bewildered. She picked up one of his pillows and chucked it at him. It bounced off, having no effect. Seeming to have run out of energy, Rukia got off of him and sat next to him on his bed. She sighed, pleased with herself, and neatened up the blankets so it didn't look suspicious.

"Are you done…?" Ichigo faced Rukia apprehensively. He had barely been awake for twenty minutes and had already managed to get into a fight. He just didn't have the energy for this in the morning.

Rukia nodded. "Yes, I think so."

"Okay, then," he answered quickly. A little too quickly, it seemed.

"What's up?" Rukia asked. Ichigo looked at her in disbelief.

"You were hitting me!" he said in an astonished voice. How could she not find that out-of-the-ordinary? He had never been beaten up by a girl before; usually they were nice and gentle. Wasn't there something in their brains that kept their emotions in check? But not Rukia; she went against everything he'd always thought about females. Hell, maybe he was just sexist.

"Because I was angry at you," Rukia explained calmly, crossing her legs and rearranging her dress.

"You're insane!" Ichigo accused, amazed at her tranquillity.

"I am not," she denied, huffing.

"Right," Ichigo answered, stifling a laugh. They smiled at each other. Nobody could deny that they had a spark there. It was just _something _that made each so attracted to the other.

"So anyway," Rukia began, bringing them back to earth, "I wanted to know if maybe… Would you like to go out with me sometime…?" And she surprised him once again.

Sexist or not, Ichigo was fond of traditions and strongly believed it was the male's job to ask out the girl. But then again, this was Rukia. Maybe he could let it slide—just because she was so different to any other girl he'd ever met.

"Yes," Ichigo agreed, quite happy with this turn of events.

* * *

At lunchtime that day, she stayed true to her word and entered the bakery for the third time in total, not including that morning's visit as that was Ichigo's house, not his workplace, technically. But she wasn't alone this time; Kuchiki Byakuya was with her.

Heads turned as the tall model entered, proving that his fame far surpassed Rukia's—not many people knew her because of her short career. People gasped and cameras started clicking, making Ichigo even more uncomfortable than he already was.

Why there were so many people with cameras in his bakery that day, Ichigo didn't know. What he did know, however, was that lunchtime was the busiest time in his little shop and he would have to be careful not to let any of the stock run out. People would start flocking to his doors soon, especially with the famous Kuchiki Byakuya there.

Ichigo cowered under the older man's gaze as Rukia introduced them, proudly referring to Ichigo as her boyfriend, which brought a smile to said boy's lips, and a slight blush to his cheeks.

The glare Byakuya was giving him was strong enough to melt strawberries, and everyone knows strawberries don't melt.

"What can I get you two?" Ichigo asked politely, not letting his fear of Rukia's older brother get to him. How did Kuchiki Byakuya manage to be such a successful model with such a scary attitude?

"I have heard that you produce superior strawberry tarts," he stated quietly. Rukia nodded from behind Byakuya. The man had such a large presence, it made Rukia seem even smaller.

"Coming right up." Ichigo went to one of the many shelves full of tarts and such and got the requested items. He paused just as he was about to put a tart into a bag.

"How many?" he asked upon realising he didn't know. Rukia held up four fingers.

"Manners…" the older Kuchiki chided softly. Rukia blushed at being scolded by her brother in public.

"Sorry," she said. "Four, please," she asked in an official tone, bringing a satisfied smirk to Byakuya's face. His greatest goal in life was to raise a responsible and kind sister.

Ichigo handed them the bag, then accepted the payment, putting it into the cash register.

He looked around the shop and saw that there were no tables left. But he was quickly distracted as he noticed something: a smell. He frowned, trying to place it. Then he realised what it was.

Forget the tables; something was burning! He left the counter and opened the door to the storeroom. Dreading what was about to happen, he hurried into the room behind it, the kitchen, to see a devastating sight.

Flames were licking the walls; smoke was billowing out the open windows. It was impossible to see anything and his eyes stung from just trying. Already, ash lined the floors and things in the cupboards were shattering.

His bakery was burning.

He must've left the oven on! The smoke alarms hadn't gone off, though. He had no idea why. Rushing back into the front room, he saw his customers looking at him curiously, wondering why he was in such a panic.

He hastily went over to the red fire alarm on the wall directly to his right and pulled it. It rang loudly, sending everyone out of the bakery.

Thank goodness his sisters were still at school.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran up to him once everyone was safely outside. "What happened?" she panted, out of breath from the sudden evacuation. She grabbed his arm, unexpectedly gentle for once.

"My bakery… My bakery is burning…" Ichigo was shocked, his eyes wide. That bakery was everything to him. Without it, his family had no income, no nothing. And worse than that, it was one side of his home! The bakery was on one street and directly behind it, on a parallel street, was his house. There was even a doorway connecting them. As luck would have it, that door way was in the kitchen, and the kitchen was on fire.

Ichigo looked set to lose everything because of a few moments of stupidity. He put his head in his hands but quickly looked up again, needing to see what was happening to the building.

"Don't worry, Ichigo. It'll be okay," Rukia said reassuringly, holding his arm and lightly patting his back. He hardly noticed it, upset as he was.

Byakuya stood nearby, his face stone-cold. Clearly, he wasn't happy. Rukia had been put in danger because of this baker. Byakuya wasn't going to let that go unpunished.

The fire brigade arrived and fought the blaze while taking the people left there a safe distance away. Ichigo watched from the bottom of the nearby mountain, on top of which Rukia lived, as his world was razed to the ground. The fire-fighters were doing a fantastic job, but, right before they managed to put the inferno out, the roof caved in.

There were no words to describe it. One second, the walls and the roof were there, allowing his home to keep looking like a home, and the next… there were just walls, and a lot of debris.

* * *

**A/N: I bet you're all dying to know what happens in the next chapter. The final chapter… The last one ever… I should stop rubbing it in now, shouldn't I? XD  
****By the way, with Byakuya's glare being enough to melt strawberries, it's kind of an inside joke. You see, one night, I called my Firisu—my beta-reader—and started talking to her, then she said something along the lines of "go away and let me eat my strawberries before they melt."  
****I said "strawberries don't melt."  
****She disagreed.  
****Then it occurred to me that Ichigo is a strawberry, therefore it'd be funny if I put that in this story. :)**

**BR/N: Strawberries do melt, I assure you. Or perhaps the ones I was eating were just going bad… But they were melting, nonetheless, and that is what matters. Isn't that right?  
****Anyway, if all goes according to my evil plan, there will actually be two chapters after this. So just cross your fingers and be extra nice to the author, okay? ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Umm… I hope you all remember where the last chapter ended, because I sure don't. XD**

**The Bakery  
**

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo was speechless—not to mention homeless, as well. He hardly noticed Rukia stroking his hair gently as he sat at her feet, watching as the firemen did one last check to make sure all of the fire was out and not even sparks were left.

It didn't feel real. He told himself that it couldn't be happening, it wasn't possible, and he was simply imagining things.

One of the firemen walked over from the remains, and Ichigo looked up at the ash-coated man from his position on the ground.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, I presume," the man stated, somewhat ominously.

"Yes?" Ichigo swallowed nervously, his throat dry from the lack of moisture in the air.

"I think it's pretty clear what happened here. There's evidence that the oven set a tea towel on fire and the whole room went up. Well done on your quick reaction, by the way. So, when was the last time you checked the smoke alarms?"

"About three months ago." Ichigo had been expecting the question and so had his answer ready.

"Do you have any idea why they wouldn't have gone off?"

"No, sir. Not the slightest clue," Ichigo answered honestly, feeling quite disorientated.

The man nodded. "I'll assume you have insurance?" he guessed. Ichigo nodded once again.

"Right. Well, sorry about all this." The man gestured to the remains of Ichigo's home and workplace before walking away.

The firemen left to fight other fires, and save cats from old ladies, and the crowd slowly dispersed. News reporters arrived, and the story was suddenly everywhere. Strange, how the media could spread word of a fire faster than the fire itself could.

After discussing it with his insurance company—and many builders—over the phone, Ichigo found that although everything could be returned to the state it was before the fire, he and his family would have to make alternative arrangements for their residence until then. So they would pretty much be left to fend for themselves for three months before his house would be occupant-worthy.

Fortunately, Ichigo still had enough money saved from the business to be able to afford food for them all. Now the problem left was: where to stay? The insurance company had suggested friends, but what friend would take all of them in on such short notice? And in a small cramped town such as this, he doubted anybody even had room to accommodate four extra people.

Bringing himself back to the present, Ichigo realised Yuzu and Karin would be home from school soon. He didn't look forward to telling them they had no home to return to. Following that train of thought, he became aware that he had no idea where his father was.

With his life suddenly thrown into chaos, and his family in a state of total disorganisation, Ichigo wondered in dismay how he would survive the coming weeks.

He looked up at Rukia sadly, seeking comfort and noticing as he did so that her mouth was set in a grim line. It was odd, however; she didn't seem as upset as much as she appeared determined.

Her hand left his head and he could only watch in surprise as she marched up to Byakuya who was still standing nearby, watching everything with narrowed eyes. She stood up straight next to him and looked directly into his eyes.

"Brother."

"Yes, Rukia?" he drawled, somehow already knowing what it was she was about to ask him.

"Can Ichigo and his family stay at our house until his own house is repaired?" she asked, although it seemed like more of a demand, judging by her tone. Ichigo almost smiled, glad that she cared enough to suggest he come and stay in the Kuchiki mansion. She seemed to think it was a house, but honestly, it was more like a castle. They could probably hide an entire army in there and nobody would be any the wiser.

"I do not think that is a good idea," Byakuya said, causing Ichigo's momentary relief to come crashing down to the ground.

"I think it's a very good idea, considering they have nowhere else to go," Rukia stated strongly, refusing to back down.

"I doubt it. Living with your boyfriend at your age? And you've known him how long?" Byakuya criticised.

"Well…"

"My answer is no," Byakuya said stubbornly.

"When are you going to stop protecting me from every little thing?" Rukia burst out angrily. Byakuya remained silent.

"How am I supposed to live my life my way when you don't let me make any decisions?" Rukia argued. "A life I don't enjoy is no life at all!"

"…Very well." Byakuya didn't look any different, but he must've been touched by her words. Either that or he had something up his sleeve.

"Wait, what? It's that easy?" Rukia was surprised. Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, thank you. Thank you!" Rukia quickly backtracked. She ran over to Ichigo to tell him the good news.

* * *

Settling into the huge mansion took a bit longer than average. As there were so many rooms, everyone was quickly lost, but they managed. And so, it came to be that the baker's family lived with the famous models.

"Ichigo." Yuzu woke him the next morning, still looking tired. Ichigo guessed that she'd slept badly.

"Breakfast is ready," she told him.

Soon after, they were all sitting at the huge dining table, enjoying a large but healthy breakfast.

"My brother apologises for not being present," Rukia explained formally. "He had work to get to." Ichigo laughed at her stiffness.

"Relax, Rukia. He's not here to correct your grammar," Ichigo said with mock sternness. She poked her tongue out at him—something that was quickly becoming a habit. He paused, realising the taste of the food was familiar. "Nice bread." He smirked.

"Silence, idiot. It's from your shop, yes, but that doesn't mean a thing!"

"Sure," he drawled.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Rukia changed the subject, looking to Yuzu and Karin, who were sitting together across the table from her.

"We have to go recover what we can from the house," Yuzu explained in dismay.

"Oh…" Rukia wasn't sure how to respond. "Would you like some help?" she offered.

"No, we'll be fine," Karin told her kindly. "Besides, you have stuff to do, right?"

"Nope," Rukia answered. "I'm all alone today." She said this in such a way that it was clear to all at the table that she was expecting boredom that day and she would do just about anything to escape it.

Ichigo toyed with an idea for a brief moment before suggesting it: "How about we spend the morning on our recovery mission, and then we can show Rukia the finer parts of town?"

Yuzu clapped her hands together in delight. "Awesome! I'll go get ready."

It amazed Ichigo how quickly her moods changed; from gloomy to joyful in less than a minute. Karin rolled her eyes at her sister's behaviour before following her up the stairs, leaving Ichigo and Rukia alone, conveniently.

"I have lived here my whole life, you know. I've seen most of the town," Rukia told Ichigo.

"Sure, fancy restaurants and stuff. But have you ever been down to the arcade and the skate park?" Ichigo asked her.

"Well… no. Byakuya says that people around there are dangerous."

"Paranoid," Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"He's not paranoid!" Rukia admonished. "He's just a bit cautious. Just a bit."

"No need for caution—I won't let anything happen to you," Ichigo promised.

Rukia smiled slowly, feeling her insides warm up with the sweetness of his comment. She was so glad to know that he cared. Of course, she wasn't so weak as to let him know that she was glad for his protection, but she was happy and mischievous enough to lean over and kiss his lips briefly before going upstairs.

Ichigo sat in bliss for a minute after that. He decided to say nice things to Rukia more often so that he could get more rewards. Her kisses were soft and light, but burned him inside more than anything else.

_So this is how it feels to love._

* * *

"Arcade!" Yuzu declared happily after a difficult and painful couple of hours, digging through remains for… well, remains. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, albeit a black haystack that falls apart when touched, but they managed to find a few things worth keeping.

"Oh, wow," Rukia said in astonishment as they entered. It was brightly coloured and full of loud, ridiculously-shaped machines claiming to be games. Ichigo leaned up against a nearby wall as his sisters dashed off to some fortune-telling thing they'd been going on about for a while. Rukia stood stock-still, mouth wide in wonder.

"It's so big!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's big," Ichigo answered.

"And so bright!"

"That'd be the lights."

"What's that?" she asked suddenly, pointing.

"That, my dear, is what we like to call a cat." He said it as if he were speaking to a three-year-old. Rukia was offended enough to use violence.

"Not the cat, idiot," she said, proceeding to grab his head and force him to face what she'd pointed to. "That."

"Oh." Next to the cat was a great big black hole in the wall.

"I mean, what's it doing there? I can see it's a hole," Rukia amended hastily before Ichigo could insult her intelligence any more.

"Dunno," Ichigo answered nonchalantly. It was such an odd thing to see, Rukia thought. Ichigo, however, had no problem with it.

Rukia walked up to it and stuck out her hand to find that it wasn't a hole at all; it was painted on. Ichigo sauntered up next to her.

"Satisfied?"

"Yes."

Together, they wandered through the arcade, Rukia asking a question every so often. It was so difficult for Ichigo to imagine that a kid who'd grown up in this town had never been to the arcade, but he guessed that's what must happen when you're famous: you miss out on things.

* * *

"Come on, we'll never get to the skate park if we spend all day here," Ichigo said to his sisters, practically dragging them out of the clothing store they'd decided to go to. They'd declared a vote had been in order, and decreed that the store was to be visited. Everyone but Ichigo had voted yes, but now he was putting his foot down. It was getting dark, and he wanted to show Rukia the place where most of the young people around town spent their days.

"Busy," she remarked upon their arrival at the skate park. It was indeed quite busy—being a Saturday night and all.

"Oh my god!" they heard someone nearby shout. Curious eyes were drawn to the man. "You're Kuchiki Rukia, aren't you?"

Rukia nodded carefully as the man approached.

"Wow, you're even more beautiful in person!" The man seemed quite excited upon seeing her, and other nearby people closed in, hearing that the famous Rukia was in their midst.

"So, uh, how would you like to come to my place tonight?" he suggested suggestively, taking a few more steps toward them.

"She would not." Byakuya appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Rukia tightly by the arm and whisking her away before anyone even registered his presence. Totally surprised and wondering what that was all about, Ichigo took his sisters' hands and followed Byakuya back to the mansion.

"You're popular there," Ichigo remarked to Rukia upon their arrival back at his temporary home. Judging by the look on Byakuya's face, it was the wrong thing to say. Karin and Yuzu quickly excused themselves, sensing the argument that was coming.

"And you are no use at all, are you?" Byakuya accused rudely.

"Uh… what?" Ichigo asked, offended.

"It's fine," Rukia said quickly, "a normal thing. You know how people can be—"

"You did not even try to protect Rukia from that man," Byakuya elaborated, cutting across Rukia. She laughed nervously.

"I just said, it was fine. He wasn't going to do anything to me or anything. You're just overreacting as usual—…which is also fine…" Rukia trailed off as Byakuya switched his glare to her.

"Rukia's right; it was fine. Just a fan," Ichigo said nonchalantly, muttering as he walked away, "Protect her from nothing…"

"Out!" Byakuya exploded suddenly. "If you do not take Rukia's safety seriously, then you do not belong here!"

Ichigo turned around in confusion, his mouth gaping, shocked. "Excuse me?" he asked, deciding he hadn't heard properly. Rukia looked from her brother to Ichigo, worried.

"Get out of my house. Don't come back." And with that venomous instruction, Byakuya threw Ichigo bodily out the door and slammed it shut after him.

"Hey—No!" Ichigo heard Rukia shout inside the house. He was in shock. He'd just been thrown out. Literally, chucked from the room.

"I forbid you to see him. Now go to your room!"

Ichigo heard Rukia give a sound of frustration before she stormed off.

Ichigo tried the door. It was locked. There was no more sound from inside, which probably meant that there was nobody there.

He went and sat at the foot of one of the towers, leaning against the cold stone wall and sighing. What had he done to deserve this?

He jumped as he heard a sound from above. Turning, he noticed that there was a room at the very top, and the light was on. He sat very still in the shadow of the tower, hoping that whoever was up there wouldn't notice him. Then he heard a knock and a "Rukia, can I come in?"

Ichigo decided the shadow of the tower was the safest place to be, because that was definitely the voice of Kuchiki Byakuya and, judging by what he said, this tower contained Rukia's bedroom.

"No," Rukia answered calmly. The door opened anyway, and Byakuya spoke.

"He's just a boy. No need to get upset."

"Shut up!" Rukia said loudly. "Now everything's ruined because of you!"

Ichigo felt very embarrassed to hear a sobbing. Byakuya left and Ichigo decided it was safe to make his presence known. Picking an appropriately-sized rock from the stones surrounding him, he tossed it into the air towards the open window.

It flew right in and he heard Rukia exclaim, "Ow!"

"Sorry!" he called.

She stuck her head out of the window, and he saw her eyebrows rise in surprise.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Ichigo said, touching a hand to his heart dramatically, a smile playing at his lips.

"Shut up, you idiot! Byakuya will hear you!" Rukia had stopped sobbing, suspiciously enough, making it obvious that she had been acting.

Ichigo answered with a brief laugh.

"What the hell are you calling me Rapunzel for, anyway?" Rukia continued, ranting a bit. "My hair doesn't even go past my shoulders, let alone to the bottom of this massive tower!"

"How else am I meant to get up there?" Ichigo asked reasonably.

"Oh, I dunno. Try the ladder, maybe?" Rukia replied sarcastically, withdrawing herself from the window and muttering, "Idiot."

Ichigo looked around and noticed a conveniently-placed ladder on the side of the tower. He climbed it, careful not to look below him as the drop was horrendous, and finally made it into her room, after diving in the open window.

Standing up, he looked around and saw many faces staring at him. After a moment of shock, he realised that the walls were covered in posters of various bands. He'd never been in Rukia's room before—unsurprising, since he'd only lived in her house for one day.

Rukia stood near the door, smiling at him in amusement.

"I love you." The words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them.

Rukia looked mildly surprised, but then composed herself and answered, "Well, hello to you, too."

"Ah… sorry," Ichigo said bashfully.

"That's okay," Rukia answered, realising as she said it that it was, in fact, okay.

There was a silence. An awkward silence. Ichigo found himself wishing that Rukia would just change the subject.

"So, what were you calling me Rapunzel for?" Rukia asked, changing the subject just as he'd wished, though her reason was that she had begun to blush.

"Oh, that," Ichigo answered, glad of the subject change because he was quickly becoming embarrassed. "I just had this idea about princesses and towers… You know the sort."

"Oh, yeah," Rukia agreed. The silence returned and it was quickly becoming warm, despite the open window.

Ichigo took a step in Rukia's direction, trying to act casual but finding it difficult. "Sorry about at the skate park. You didn't even get to see very much of it…"

"That's okay. I know you would've stopped him if he'd actually tried anything."

The silence returned and Rukia's blush became more pronounced.

"Uh… I've never really liked anyone this much before…" Rukia mused, blushing. "Apart from my brother—but that's a little different."

"Oh, good. You had me worried for a second there."

They shared a small giggle at that, and Ichigo felt the tension dissipate.

He took another step closer and smiled down at her, way down. She was _really _short. He felt an urge to tell her, but knew it would only end in her beating him up.

"May I kiss you?" he asked suddenly yet politely, not wanting to offend the 'princess.'

Ichigo moved one hand to Rukia's chin, simultaneously wrapping his other arm around her waist. He brought her face closer to his and leaned down, closing the already short distance until their lips met. Even whilst his heart burned with desire, he kept control of himself, kissing her gently.

Then she sighed, whispered, "Get it in your head, strawberry; I love you, too."

Ichigo took that as a yes.

He kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone—pulling her as close as possible and twisting his tongue through her mouth. He was afraid that he might be going too far, but she was just as enthusiastic, not letting him pull away.

That was until the door opened and Byakuya walked in, already angry, but becoming angrier at the sight of Ichigo.

Byakuya spluttered wordlessly, looking like he wanted to throw something out the window. Since Ichigo would be the most likely candidate for that, and it was a _long_way down, Ichigo decided that removing his arms from around Rukia would be prudent.

"It's not what it looks like," Rukia began. "Wait, what am I saying? This is exactly what it looks like."

Byakuya seemed to be about to say something, but a violent growl came out instead.

"And you can't stop me! He's… he's…" Rukia was at a loss for words. Ichigo was flattered.

"He's scum! Lower class!" Byakuya was in such a rage that he could only shout disjointed phrases.

"He's my boyfriend," Rukia said firmly. "I love him."

"How did he even get in here?" Byakuya asked Rukia, calming down a bit. Ichigo tried to act like he wasn't there, and nobody paid any attention to him.

"The ladd—no, it doesn't matter! He can come in here any time he likes!" Rukia shouted.

"He is dangerous," Byakuya stated.

"He is not!"

"I don't want you seeing him."

"I love him!"

"He isn't good enough for you! Nobody is," Byakuya said.

"He is! I love him. I really do," Rukia insisted, reaching back to where Ichigo was hovering uncertainly and pulling him forwards so she could put her arm around his waist. Ichigo automatically draped an arm over her shoulders, looking at Byakuya with undisguised fear.

A moment passed, and it felt heavily significant to them. Byakuya sighed.

"You'll realise I'm right one day," he muttered ominously. Ichigo was positively alarmed at that, but he was determined. He could worry about the future when it turned up, and since it hadn't yet, he figured he was home free. He knew it was terribly illogical of him to think that way, but it was encouraging, so he didn't correct it.

Byakuya let Ichigo stay in the house again, provided that he didn't steal Rukia's virtue. When the bakery was finally rebuilt and his house was considered liveable, Ichigo and his family went back.

* * *

It was the 'grand reopening' of the bakery, and cameras were everywhere. It was rumoured that the famous Kuchiki models would be coming, too, so there was a reporter waiting to kidnap them. Either that or interview them.

There was a great hullabaloo when Kuchiki Rukia arrived in a limo, with her more-famous brother—who was immediately swarmed by fans, mostly female—and greeted the bakery's owner, a young man with bright orange hair, with a kiss. She cut the ribbon, and strawberry tarts were handed out to all who had gathered.

It was odd to celebrate a bakery so enthusiastically, but when celebrities supported the business, generally the rest of the world did, too.

Later, when most people had left, and it was dark, Rukia and Ichigo were alone at a table inside the bakery.

"You realise this is only the fourth time I've been in here," she pointed out to him.

"Seriously?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

"Weird how so much can happen in such a short amount of time…" she mused.

"Isn't it just."

* * *

**A/N: The end! But, thanks to my (somewhat evil) beta reader, there shall be an epilogue. It can be referred to as 'chapter five'. Wacky idea, I know. XD**

**I haven't explained yet, have I? Well, one night, I had a dream about Ichigo and Rukia and it involved some cake. I then told Firisu about this dream and she told me to write a fanfiction about it! ****Weeks passed and I started writing thiiiiiiis, although I had completely forgotten about my dream. Then Firisu reminded me about the original idea and said I should add what happened in the dream into the story. I told her that it was absolutely ridiculous and it wouldn't even fit in my story anyway. So she said that I should make it an epilogue!**

**So that is how this story came to be. And it's also the reason for chapter five. ^^**

**BR/N: It wasn't just **_**weeks**_** that passed; it was five months between the time Ciel In A Dress had that dream and the time she wrote this story. Of course she didn't remember. What was I thinking, holding onto the belief that there was the slightest possibility of her remembering? How silly of me.**

**Anyway, it was an interestingly odd dream—the way she told me about it, at least. You, dear readers, shall find out if you stay tuned to the next chapter.**


	5. Epilogue

**A/N: Ahh, the fa****bled chapter 5! :D  
I have weird dreams, this is one of them. Well, it was a lot less detailed in dream form, and there was no speech. Kind of like a silent movie, with over acting and such. And the ending was different. XD**

**BTW – I'm still loling at my choice of names for the children. ****Tite and Kubo. XD I'm such a genius~**

**The Bakery**

**Epilogue**

"What?" Rukia asked, stress creeping into her voice. Ichigo turned curiously to see her frowning as she listened to whoever was on the phone.

"But my kids—" she answered the unknown speaker. "No, that's not it. They—" She was interrupted again, and Ichigo saw a darkness begin to grow across her face. If whoever she was speaking to placed any value on their life, they should stop irritating her.

"No, he can't look after them alone! Have you met him? He's an idiot!" she exclaimed, banging her fist on the table. Ichigo was offended, to say the least.

"Urgh," Rukia groaned into the phone, before looking at Ichigo and directing her next words at him: "He wants to talk to you." She passed the phone over and walked away, fuming and probably looking for something to punch.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Kurosaki, greetings. I trust that you are well?"

"Yeah," he said, recognising the voice of Rukia's boss and immediately understanding her irritation.

"Mrs. Kurosaki seems to think that you are incapable of living four days without her. Is there any reason this might be so?"

"Nope," Ichigo answered, affronted.

"Good. She will leave tomorrow, then." Rukia's boss sounded pleased.

"And go where?"

"To Paris. One of the models we were using has fallen ill, so we need Mrs. Kurosaki to replace her. Of course, she will be paid double-time for her work."

"Oh. Cool."

"Tell her to be at the office tomorrow morning at nine, to pick up her ticket. The flight is at eleven."

"Sure. Bye." Ichigo ended the conversation and put the phone down, leaving the room to look for Rukia. He found her lying across their bed. She looked up as he entered, and smiled at him, causing him to feel light-headed, as usual.

"You're going to Paris," he told her, sitting down next to her. She glared at him, all traces of her smile long gone.

"Betrayer."

"Double pay!"

"My kids!"

"_My _kids!"

"We have the same kids, idiot." She rolled her eyes, and Ichigo laughed.

"So it's all settled. You're going to Paris, and I'm going to prove that I am a perfectly capable father."

"How are you going to get them to take their medication?" she asked smugly. That brought him up short. He'd watched in relief over the past few days as Rukia gave them their doses. He didn't want to have to deal with the tears and tantrums.

"Uh…"

"Here's a hint: there's no way in hell you're going to convince them to take it willingly."

"Then I'll… force them?"

"Good luck!" Rukia said, falsely cheery.

"I'll put it in the food. They won't even know," Ichigo said, grasping at straws.

"If they don't take it, they're never going to get over this flu. You'd better take good care of them!" She raised a fist threateningly.

"I will!" Ichigo promised. Rukia rolled over on top of him and kissed him. He held her close and devoured her mouth. All too soon, she rolled back off of him and delicately slipped off the bed.

"I should pack," she sighed dramatically, resigned to her children's fate.

"Or, you could come back over here and…" He trailed off suggestively. She blushed, but kept her composure.

"Hmm…" She put a finger to her lips, thinking. "How about this? If the kids are fine and happy when I come back, I'll let you have your way with me, whenever, wherever"—she paused to wink seductively—"but if they're not, then you can't touch me for a week."

Ichigo looked at her with wide eyes, mentally weighing the pros and cons. Somehow, he just couldn't get his mind off the pros. Fine and happy? He could manage that.

"Deal."

* * *

"Bye, Mummy!" Tite called, waving her hand high above her head so that Rukia could see it from the taxi. The window dropped, and Rukia waved back as the taxi drove away.

"Well, what do you want to do today?" Ichigo asked Tite and Kubo as he led them back inside.

"Hmmm…" Tite said, putting a finger to her head thoughtfully. "Play!" she declared, pulling a dinosaur out of nowhere and running off with it. Kubo followed after, just as excited. He was happy to go along with whatever his sister thought was appropriate.

"Easy," Ichigo muttered to himself. "Don't know what Rukia was worried about."

He soon found out.

Not five minutes after he'd sat on the couch and began to read the day's newspaper, Kubo came walking in, crying.

"Oh, dear, what's wrong?" Ichigo said kindly, pulling the child onto his lap and wiping away the tears.

"Tite… She… She said… Mummy isn't coming back!" Kubo wailed and hugged Ichigo tightly.

"That's not true; Rukia's coming back in just a few days. You don't have to worry." He calmed Kubo, then went looking for Tite.

"I have a bone to pick with you," he announced, interrupting her as she played with her fairy dolls.

"What does that mean?" Tite asked in a sing-song voice, bending over to put her hands on her knees and titling her head to the side.

"Uh… It means I need to talk to you."

"Why is it a bone?" She now had her left leg lifted over her head, arms outstretched as she balanced.

"Because it… it just is."

"How do you pick a bone?" Both of her legs were over her head, and she was rolled around until her hands were flat, and then she lifted herself into a convoluted handstand.

"You… When you… It's a figure of speech!" Ichigo growled. "Now, to the point, you upset Kubo when you told him Rukia wasn't coming home, so you need to apologise. Also, why did you say that in the first place?"

"What does 'the first place' mean?"

"Just answer the question!"

"Because Mummy's mean and she makes us eat icky food!" Tite spat, righting herself before she sniffed and stormed off, leaving a thoroughly confused Ichigo behind.

"What…?" he muttered, before realising what she had meant—Rukia never let them eat sweet food for fear of hyperactivity and tooth decay.

Well, they were under his roof now, and he would do anything to keep them happy, because their happiness equalled his happiness, in a roundabout kind of way.

That night, he kept the children occupied in a completely safe way, by plonking them in front of the TV and putting on a Barbie movie. It was comical how they sat there staring, as if they were hypnotised. Regardless, Ichigo felt safe enough to concentrate on baking a complicated and delicious cake.

He finished it just as the movie finished, and served his sweet dessert for dinner, taking care to slip the pills into the children's portions.

"Dinner's ready!" he called. He laughed at the children's shock as they sat down to eat cake for dinner. He totally had this deal in the bag.

"I love you, Daddy," Tite said as he put her in bed.

"I love Daddy, too. I love cake…" Kubo piped up, looking dreamy.

"What do you guys want for breakfast tomorrow?" Ichigo asked, already planning his next kitchen masterpiece.

"Cake!" they announced in unison.

And that is how Ichigo ended up feeding his children cake for four days straight.

* * *

"Mummy!" Rukia's children jumped on her as soon as she came in the door.

"I'm so, so, so, so glad you're back!"

"I missed you heaps!"

"I missed you, too," she said, kissing them both, then Ichigo.

She unpacked some bags and handed out gifts, and then it was time for bed—a time which Ichigo had been looking forward to.

"They seem pretty happy with you," Rukia said to Ichigo once they were alone.

"Yep," he said happily, sitting next to her on the bed and kissing her.

"And you gave them their medication?" she mumbled.

"Mm-hmm," Ichigo answered, kissing her neck and sliding her shirt off.

"Just out of curiosity, how?"

Ichigo paused guiltily.

"It's a secret," he said, attempting seduction, trying to distract her by kissing the exposed part of her breasts. It didn't work; she pulled away and glared at him.

"How?" she demanded. Damn, he should've lied before she got suspicious.

"I… fed them cake."

"Okay…" Rukia continued to glare. Ichigo considered trying to play it down and act like it was only once, but then he realised Tite and Kubo would be quick to brag about it, and his lie wouldn't last.

"… Every day…"

"You did WHAT?" she shouted, jumping off the bed and promptly putting her shirt back on.

"I kept them happy!" Ichigo immediately added, remembering that part of their deal.

"If they get scurvy, it's your fault!" Rukia threw a pillow at him. She was never one for controlling her temper.

"Okay, I accept that responsibility," said Ichigo calmly.

"To hell with responsibility! You've killed them!"

"Scurvy isn't deadly!"

"Tell that to the nineteenth century's _dead_ sailors!"

"You can give them vegetables tomorrow," Ichigo begged.

Rukia fumed silently for a minute.

"Remember our deal—I kept them happy and they took their medication! Can I have my way with you now?"

"No."

"Aw, come on, please?"

Rukia considered it for another minute. He had kept the children happy, albeit not quite healthy. And he had managed to get them to take their medication. And she had missed him quite a lot in Paris.

"Fine. Not because you want it, but because I do."

"Awesome." Ichigo pulled her back over to him, and they continued where they had left off.

* * *

**A/N: Finally finished properly. Good. :D Are you happy now? I am~  
****Unfortunately, my dream failed to name the two children in this story, so for the majority of my writing, I referred to them as ****CHILD A and CHILD B.**

**BR/N: Originally, when Ciel In A Dress first told me about this dream of hers, she told**** me **_**I**_** should write a one-shot based upon it, to which I told her it would be a better idea for **_**her **_**to write it, since it was her dream. Sometime in those next few months, though, I plotted out a rough draft for the potential story (still within the pages of one of my early fanfiction notebooks), since it didn't look like she'd ever remember to do it.  
****And then **_**The Bakery**_** was born, and it seemed this one-shot idea had a hope at life after all.**

**Lo and behold, it's come to fruition.**

**Well, it's been a fun ride. Sometimes, I think I enjoyed this story more than Ciel In A Dress did, but then I remember how much she treasures her writings, so I'm probably mistaken.**

**Have a nice day.**


End file.
